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R1 54.M69  T79  1 91 4     S.  Weir  Mitchell;  a 


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S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 


A   brief  sketch  of  his  life 
with  personal  recollections 


BY 


BEVERLEY  R.  TUCKER 


BOSTON:  RICHARD  G.  BADGER 

THE    COPP    CLARK    CO.,     LIMITED,    TORONTO 


Copyright,  1914,  by  Richard  G.  Badger 
All  Rights  Reserved 


1^  154- 


The  Gorham  Press,  Boston^  U.  S.  A- 


CONTENTS 

Page 

S.  Weir  Mitchell 7 

The  Physician 1 1 

As  a  Scientist 21 

As  a  Novelist 25 

As  a  Poet    35 

As  a  Citizen    40 

Personal  Recollections 42 


S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 


S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

IF  one  were  required  to  write  a  description 
of  the  wonderful  rose  window  of  Notre 
Dame,  many  difficulties  would  beset  his 
effort.  Every  change  in  the  light  of  the 
day  would  bring  out  new  colors  and  shadows, 
every  inspection  would  reveal  new  wonders  of 
technique,  every  attempted  description,  while 
possibly  adequate  in  one  particular,  would  fall 
short  in  others  of  this  many  colored  marvel.  All 
who  view  it,  critic  or  casual  observer,  are,  how- 
ever, brought  to  the  one  general  conclusion  that 
it  is  a  majestic  work  of  art,  and  all  leave  with 
a  sense  of  intense  and  personal  admiration.  How 
much  harder  is  it  to  depict  this  many-gifted 
man;  this  physician,  this  scientist,  this  novelist, 
this  poet,  this  humanitarian,  this  friend!  Still, 
I  am  tempted  to  lay  before  you  an  imperfect 
sketch  of  Dr.  Mitchell,  believing  that  as  you 
learn  more  and  more  of  him  you  will  not  be  so 

7 


8  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

much  appalled  by  his  genius  as  drawn  and  ele- 
vated by  a  feeling  of  personal  admiration  for 
this  truly  great  and  learned  man, 

Silas  Weir  Mitchell  was  born  in  Philadel- 
phia, February  15th,  1829,  and  died  in  the 
same  city  at  his  home,  1524  Walnut  Street,  Jan- 
uary 4th,  19 14.  He  was  the  son  of  John  Kears- 
ley  Mitchell  and  Sarah  Matilda,  nee  Henry, 
daughter  of  Alexander  Henry.  His  grand- 
father, Alexander  Mitchell,  emigrated  from 
Scotland  and  settled  near  Alexandria,  Va.,  and 
later  moved  to  near  Charles  Town,  then  Vir- 
ginia, now  in  Jefferson  County,  West  Virginia, 
where  his  father  was  born.  His  father  moved 
to  Philadelphia  and  was  an  eminent  physician 
who  for  years,  until  his  death  in  1858,  was  pro- 
fessor of  practice  of  medicine  in  Jefferson  Med- 
ical College,  Philadelphia.  His  father  also  had 
decided  literary  taste  and  published  several  vol- 
umes of  tales  and  poems. 

Dr.  Mitchell  was  twice  married.  His  first 
wife  was  Mary  Middleton,  a  daughter  of  Al- 


S.  WEIR  MITCHELL  9 

fred  Langdon  Elwyn,  and  his  second  was  Mary, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Thomas  Cadwallader.  A  son, 
Langdon  Elwyn  Mitchell,  by  the  first  marriage, 
inherits  his  father's  literary  taste,  and  is  well 
known  as  a  playwright,  and  his  other  son  by  this 
marriage,  Dr.  John  K.  Mitchell,  has  followed 
his  father's  profession  and  became  a  noted  neu- 
rologist. A  daughter  by  the  second  marriage 
died  some  years  ago,  I  understand,  of  diphtheria 
contracted  while  visiting  the  poor. 

In  his  youth  Dr.  Mitchell  was  educated  in 
the  grammar  schools  of  Philadelphia  and  also 
in  the  John  F.  Ferris  Academy,  one  of  the  old 
preparatory  schools  of  Philadelphia.  He  then 
took  academic  and  medical  classes  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  but  was  prevented  from 
graduating  by  reason  of  ill  health  in  his  senior 
year.  Later,  when  his  health  improved,  he  en- 
tered the  Jefferson  Medical  College,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1850. 

Here  the  writer  thinks  It  is  wise  to  get  a 
clearer  view  of  his  career,  to  divide  this  paper 


10  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

into  remarks  on  his  life  as  a  physician,  as  a 
scientist,  as  a  literary  man  and  poet,  as  a  pub- 
lic citizen,  and  then  to  give  some  personal  recol- 
lections. 


THE  PHYSICIAN 

GRADUATING  in  1850,  Dr.  Mitch- 
ell entered  the  practice  of  medicine  as 
a  general  practitioner,  and  by  the  time 
of  the  war  was  well  known  and  had 
built  up  an  extensive  practice.  In  1862  he  was 
appointed  army  surgeon  in  the  United  States 
army  and  served  until  1865.  During  this  time 
he  was  active  in  the  organization  of  the  Chris- 
tian Street  Hospital  for  Nervous  Diseases,  and 
was  later  the  Acting  Assistant  Surgeon  of  Tur- 
ner's Lane  Hospital  with  Dr.  George  Moore- 
house  and  Dr.  W.  W.  Keen. 

Some  years  after  the  war,  in  speaking  of  his 
connection  with  Dr.  Moorehouse  and  Dr.  Keen, 
Dr.  Mitchell  said :  "It  was  agreed  that  each  of 
us  should  profit  by  the  notes  of  all  of  us  and  that 
the  name  of  the  writer  of  each  essay  should 
stand  first  on  the  title  page." 

Dr.  Mitchell's  first  paper  from  the  volumin- 

II 


12  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

ous  notes  of  this  hospital  was  on  the  subject  of 
sudden  palsy,  the  result  of  gunshot  wounds  in 
remote  regions  of  the  body.  Then  came  a  pa- 
per on  malingering  and  the  stimulation  of  pa- 
ralyses and  epilepsies.  These  studies  were 
especially  interesting  because  of  the  observa- 
tions of  the  staff  upon  their  own  efforts  to  stim- 
ulate diseases.  In  1866  he  published  an  im- 
portant paper  on  paralysis  from  peripheral  irri- 
tation. With  these  papers  began  his  wonderful 
career  as  a  specialist  in  nervous  diseases. 

With  Drs.  Moorehouse  and  Keen  he  wrote  on 
reflex  paralysis,  gunshot  wounds  and  other  in- 
juries of  nerves.  The  publication  of  these  pa- 
pers made  him  the  greatest  authority  on  gun- 
shot wounds  in  the  world  at  that  time. 

Dr.  Guy  Hinsdale  says  of  Dr.  Mitchell's  Tur- 
ner's Lane  Hospital  experience: 

"The  Turner's  Lane  Hospital  received  a 
multitude  of  cases  representing  almost  every 
conceivable  type  of  obscure  nervous  disease. 
The  Medical  inspectors  forwarded  from  vari- 


THE  PHYSICIAN  13 

ous  fields  and  hospitals  a  vast  number  of  cases 
of  wounds  and  contusions,  including  rare  forms 
of  nerve  lesion  of  almost  every  great  nerve  in 
the  body. 

"Few  persons  have  ever  at  any  time  had  such 
an  opportunity  for  study,  and  the  mass  of  ma- 
terial presented  was  not  neglected  from  any 
standpoint. 

"At  that  time  ( 1 864-65 )  hypodermic  medica- 
tion was  somewhat  novel,  and  in  the  terrible 
burning  pain  following  injuries  to  nerves,  which 
Dr.  Mitchell  described  under  the  name  of 
'causalgia,'  ample  use  was  made  of  hypodermic 
injections.  It  was  found  that  the  sub-cutane- 
ous administration  of  morphine  in  that  affection 
was  more  rapid  and  useful  if  made  near  the 
site  of  the  pain.  The  combined  use  of  atropine 
and  morphine  was  here  first  suggested,  and  has 
since  been  unanimously  adopted  in  daily  prac- 
tice. The  effects  of  each  drug  used  alone  were 
studied,  then  of  the  two  toegther,  their  antag- 
onisms made  clear,  and  also  their  agreements 


14  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

In  action  and  in  a  common  tendency  to  enfeeble 
the  bladder.  The  narcosis  of  morphine  is  les- 
sened by  the  presence  of  atropine,  but  Its  anal- 
gesic power  Is  unaltered. 

"The  remote  after  history  of  the  soldier  pa- 
tients suffering  from  nerve  wounds  has  been  an 
interesting  and  untouched  study,  attended  by  all 
sorts  of  difficulties.  Dr.  John  K.  Mitchell,  his 
son,  has  succeeded  In  securing  the  history  of 
many  of  these  Civil  War  cases  and  recorded 
them  in  a  volume,  published  in  1895,  entitled 
"Remote  Consequences  of  Injuries  of  Nerves 
and  Their  Treatment."  This  record  is  of  sin- 
gular value  and  Is  not  confined  to  a  study  of  the 
Turner's  Lane  Hospital  patients." 

In  1872  Dr.  Mitchell  was  appointed  physician 
to  the  Presbyterian  Hospital  of  Philadelphia, 
and  in  the  same  year  he  was  appointed  physician 
to  the  Orthopaedic  Hospital,  Seventeenth  and 
Summer  Streets.  The  name  was  afterward 
changed  to  The  Orthopaedic  Hospital  and  In- 
firmary for  Nervous  Diseases.  At  this  hospital, 


THE  PHYSICIAN  15 

which  at  the  time  was  small,  he  confined  his 
practice  to  nervous  diseases  and  it  was  not  long 
before  "the  tail  wagged  the  dog"  and  at  his 
death  this  hospital  had  grown  to  be  one  of  the 
largest  special  hospitals  in  the  country.  It  was 
here  that  Dr.  Mitchell  treated  many  of  his  rest 
cases  and  performed  with  this  treatment  and 
other  measures  many  of  the  miraculous  cures 
for  which  he  was  famed.  In  1884  he  was  made 
visiting  physician  to  the  Insane  Department  of 
the  Philadelphia  Hospital.  Beside  these  hos- 
pital appointments,  he  was  connected  with  many 
rest  houses.  Most  of  these  houses  were  man- 
aged by  ladies  who  had  been  trained  under  him 
in  nervous  work,  even  before  the  days  of  the 
regular  trained  nurse. 

Dr.  Mitchell  had  one  of  the  most  enormous 
consulting  practices  In  the  United  States,  and  It 
has  been  said  that  his  Income  from  practice 
has  at  times  reached  $100,000.00  a  year. 

Based  on  these  hospital  experiences  and  his 
enormous  private  practice,  Dr.  Mitchell  wrote 


1 6  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

as  many  as  150  important  papers  and  made 
many  medical  and  scientific  discoveries.  He 
also  wrote  short  books,  among  them  "Wear  and 
Tear,"  "Hints  for  the  Overworked,"  "Doctor 
and  Patient,"  "Clinical  Lectures  on  Nervous 
Diseases"  and  "Fat  and  Blood."  The  latter 
has  been  translated  into  the  French,  German, 
Spanish,  Italian  and  Russian  languages.  Dr. 
Mitchell  never  wrote  a  text  book  on  nervous  dis- 
eases. 

I  asked  him  once  if  he  had  ever  been  a  pro- 
fessor and  he  said,  "Yes,  for  five  minutes.  At  a 
board  meeting  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania I  was  asked  to  retire  and  while  out  I 
was  elected  professor  of  physiology.  When  I 
returned  in  a  few  minutes  I  resigned."  Dr. 
Mitchell  was  one  of  the  greatest  teachers  of 
medicine  this  country  has  even  seen,  but  he  con- 
sistently refused  to  accept  a  professorship. 
Many  of  the  most  prominent  neurologists  In  this 
country  and  some  who  died  before  himself  were 
his  disciples  and  received  their  training  while 


THE  PHYSICIAN  17 

they  were  his  assistants  or  associates. 

Dr.  Mitchell  left  a  profound  impression  upon 
the  medical  fraternity.  He  was  par  excellence 
the  best  type  of  physician.  He  was  an  untiring 
worker  himself  and  not  only  required  prodig- 
ious work  of  those  associated  with  him  but  stim- 
ulated their  interest  to  such  an  extent  that  it 
was  a  pleasure  to  make  any  sacrifice  to  work 
under  his  direction. 

The  rest  treatment  was  elaborated  by  him 
at  the  bedside  of  a  patient,  an  apparently  hope- 
less case.  The  patient  was  put  to  bed,  she  was 
not  allowed  to  see  her  family  or  receive  com- 
pany or  letters,  or  to  read  or  write.  A  special 
nurse  was  obtained.  Full  feeding  was  given  to 
keep  up  her  nutrition.  Massage  was  inaugu- 
rated to  give  her  strength  and  aid  in  assimila- 
tion. Electricity  was  added  later.  As  she  im- 
proved she  was  allowed  more  and  more  liberty 
until  convalescence  was  firmly  established.  For 
neuraesthenia,  certain  cases  of  hysteria  and  the 
anxiety  of  psychoses  this  treatment  has  stood  the 


1 8  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

test  of  fifty  years  and  has  been  far  more  bene- 
ficial than  all  the  other  treatments  yet  Intro- 
duced. It  must  be  remembered  that  the  meas- 
ures mentioned  do  not  constitute  the  whole  of 
the  rest  treatment,  that  the  treatment  Is  varied 
to  suit  Individual  cases,  that  the  personality  of 
the  physician  and  his  comprehension  of  the  rea- 
sons for  the  treatment  add  both  psychotherapy 
and  common  sense  to  It. 

The  story  Is  told  of  a  Philadelphia  gentle- 
man consulting  a  famous  Italian  physician.  The 
Italian  specialist  asked:  "But  you  are  from 
America?"  "Yes."  "Why,  then,  not  take  the 
VermlchelH  treatment?"  "What's  that?"  asked 
the  curious  American.  "What,  you  don't  know 
the  treatment  of  the  famous  Dr.  Vier  Mitchell, 
of  Philadelphia?"  And  the  American  came 
home  to  be  cured. 

Dr.  Mitchell's  achievements  In  medicine 
would  be  hard  to  enumerate.  Among  them,  be- 
side the  introduction  of  the  "Rest  treatment" 
might  be  mentioned  that  he  was  the  first  to 


THE  PHYSICIAN  19 

point  out  that  ankle  colonus  was  due  to  myotonic 
contraction  of  the  soleus  muscle.  He  first  point- 
ed out  that  nerve  injuries  gave  remote  symp- 
toms and  made  other  valuable  observations 
upon  these  injuries.  He  discovered  the  rela- 
tion of  eye  strain  to  nervous  disorders.  He  in- 
troduced the  physiological  rest  treatment  for  the 
cure  of  sciatica.  He  suggested  laboratory  re- 
search in  insane  institutions.  He  introduced  the 
Weir  Mitchell  system  of  massage.  He  added 
much  to  the  knowledge  of  tremors  and  reflexes 
and  made  original  observations  upon  the  toxi- 
cology of  morphine  and  snake  poisons.  He  did 
valuable  original  work  upon  the  physiology  of 
the  cerebellum.  He  has  been  called  the  father 
of  neurology  as  a  specialty  in  America.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  to  introduce  the  card  index  for 
case  records.  He  drew  attention  to  the  value 
of  good  nutrition  for  nervous  cases  and  did 
much  to  advance  physiology  not  only  of  the  ner- 
vous system,  but  also  of  digestion.  He  first 
described  the  disease  erythromelalgia  which  is 


20  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

known  as  Weir  Mitchell's  Disease. 

He  drew  attention  to  the  fact  that  many  or- 
ganic nervous  conditions  well  known  among  the 
white  races  are  almost  unknown  in  the  negro 
race. 

As  long  as  the  history  of  medicine  lasts,  S. 
Weir  Mitchell's  name  will  be  known  through 
the  centuries  as  one  of  the  world's  greatest 
physicians.  His  wonderful  versatility,  his  sane 
mental  grasp  and  his  investigative  and  thera- 
peutic ingenuity  and  resourcefulness  were  such 
as  to  stamp  upon  the  records  of  medical  history 
an  indelible  page. 


AS  A  SCIENTIST 

POSSIBLY  least  widely  known  of  the 
accomplishments  of  this  many-sided 
man  are  his  achievements  in  science.  Dr. 
Mitchell  was  a  born  physiologist  and 
psychologist  and  an  original  investigator.  He 
elaborated  a  system  of  massage  which  is  un- 
surpassed, after  having  studied  the  methods  of 
massage  and  remedial  movements  in  many  for- 
eign countries.  Much  of  his  work  in  toxicology 
is  a  standard  to-day.  He  was  an  authority  on 
poisons,  especially  snake  poisons.  Among  his 
papers  are  "Experimental  Researches  Relative 
to  Corroval  and  Vao,  the  South  American  Ar- 
row Poison,"  published  in  1859.  In  this  series 
of  experiments  Dr.  Mitchell  was  assited  by  Dr. 
William  A.  Hammond.  To  the  Smithsonian 
contributions  to  knowledge  Dr.  Mitchell  gave, 
in  i860,  a  paper  on  "Researches  Upon  the  Ven- 
om of  the  Rattlesnake."    In  1869  he  published 

21 


22  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

another  work  on  toxiocolgy.  This  was  "On  the 
Insusceptibility  of  Pigeons  to  the  Toxic  Action 
of  Opium."  Ten  years  later,  he  wrote  another 
paper  along  the  same  lines.  This  was  entitled 
"On  the  Effect  of  Opium  and  Its  Derivative 
Alkaloids." 

In  the  field  of  toxicology  he  made  studies  also 
on  the  effect  of  chloral,  chloroform  and  ether 
hypodermically  and  otherwise  administered,  and 
as  many  as  eight  times  had  himself  anesthetized 
to  note  the  effect. 

He  investigated  the  effect  of  atmospheric 
pressure  on  nerves.  He  invented  apparatus  for 
testing  reflexes,  measuring  the  time  of  tremors 
and  making  other  observations  which  were  orig- 
inal and  unique.  There  is  a  room  in  the  Ortho- 
paedic Hospital  which  is  nearly  full  of  this  ap- 
paratus, now  out  of  date,  but  which  has  served 
its  purpose  well.  They  were  private  instru- 
ments of  precision  used  for  research  long  be- 
fore the  commercial  instruments  of  precision 
were  put  upon  the  market  or  possibly  even 


AS  A  SCIENTIST  23 

dreamed  of. 

As  a  result  of  all  of  this  work  many  honors 
were  heaped  upon  the  physician  and  scientist. 
He  was  trustee  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  of  the  Carnegie  Institute.  The  de- 
gree of  law  was  bestowed  upon  him  by  Harvard 
University  in  1886.  Two  years  later  the  Uni- 
versity of  Bologna,  France,  gave  him  an  hon- 
orary degree  in  medicine.  In  1896  Princeton 
added  the  degree  of  law  and  the  University  of 
Edinburgh  bestowed  upon  him  the  same  honor. 
In  1906  the  University  of  Toronto  bestowed  an 
honorary  degree  in  medicine,  and  in  19 10  the 
Jefferson  College  presented  him  with  a  like  de- 
gree. He  was  also  an  honorary  member  of  the 
French  Academy  of  Medicine,  of  the  British 
Medical  Society  and  a  fellow  in  the  Royal  Med- 
Ical-Chirurgical  Society.  He  was  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  National  Academy  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  twice  president  of  the  College 
of  Physicians.  The  S.  Weir  Mitchell  Hall  of 
the  new  College  of  Physicians,  in  Philadelphia, 


24  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

which  he  was  instrumental  in  having  built,  was 
named  in  his  honor.  Besides  these,  Dr.  Mitch- 
ell held  membership  in  societies  all  over  the 
world.  These  included  among  others,  the  Na- 
tional Academy  of  Science,  British  Medical  As- 
sociation, American  Neurological  Association 
(Pres.  1 908- 1 909),  American  Philosophical  So- 
ciety, London  Medical  Society,  Academy  of  Sci- 
ence, Sweden,  American  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences,  Royal  Society  of  Great  Britain,  Royal 
Medical  Society,  Royal  Society  of  Literature, 
foreign  correspondent  of  Association  of  the 
French  Academy  of  Medicine,  correspondent 
member  of  the  Academy  of  Science  of  Bologna, 
Gesselschaft  Deutscher  Nervenarztc,  and  the 
Roayl  Medical  Society,  Norway. 


AS  A  NOVELIST 

DR.  MITCHELL  wrote,  "The  Chil- 
dren's Hour"  during  the  Civil  War 
and  in  1868  'The  Wonderful  Stor- 
ies of  Fuz-Buz,  the  Fly,  and  Mother 
Grabem,  the  Spider,"  two  delightful  children's 
books.  This  statement  is  made  to  contradict 
the  rather  widespread  impression  that  he  did 
not  begin  to  write  fiction  until  he  was  fifty 
years  of  age.  From  this  time  until  1880  we 
see  little  or  nothing  of  literary  moment  except 
some  stories  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly.  The  rea- 
son for  this,  it  has  been  stated,  is  because  of  ad- 
vice given  him,  when  he  submitted  some  poems 
for  criticism,  by  Oliver  Wendel  Holmes,  to  de- 
vote himself  ten  years  to  medicine  exclusively. 
This  advice  he  appears  to  have  taken,  and  of 
the  poems  submitted  only  one  was  afterward 
published. 

In  1880  he  published  a  volume  of  fiction  con- 

25 


26  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

sisting  of  three  stories,  "Hepzibah  Guinness," 
"Thee  and  You,"  and  "A  Draft  on  the  Bank  of 
Spain."  From  now  on  almost  every  year  brought 
forth  one  or  more  volumes  of  novels  or  poems. 
A  list  of  his  principal  writing  is  appended. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  review  these  works 
in  detail  or  to  put  upon  them  their  proper  liter- 
ary value.  That  Weir  Mitchell  was  a  great 
novelist  cannot  be  successfully  disputed.  His 
greatness  as  a  novelist  would  be  a  fact  even  if 
his  high,  correct  literary  style  was  not  backed 
by  his  deep  comprehension  of  human  nature  and 
human  thought.  The  powers  of  the  great  phy- 
sician and  great  psychologist  are  fully  drawn 
upon  in  depicting  and  orienting  his  characters. 
His  versatility  is  astounding.  Think  of  the  same 
man  writing  "Fuz-Buz,"  the  child's  story,  and 
"Hugh  Wynne,"  America's  greatest  historical 
novel,  or  "Constance  Trescott,"  the  psycholog- 
ical tragedy,  and  "The  Adventures  of  Fran- 
cois," the  comico-realistical  tale  of  the  French 
revolution,    or    "When    All    the    Woods    Are 


AS  A  NOVELIST  27 

Green,"  and  the  "Autibiography  of  a  Quack!" 
Further,  he  indirectly  Invaded  the  field  of 
drama  and  "The  Masque"  was  dramatized  by 
Wilson  Barrett,  the  great  English  actor,  while 
"The  Adventures  of  Francois"  was  dramatized 
by  his  son,  Langdon  Mitchell. 

In  speaking  of  his  medical  knowledge  as  a 
basis  for  his  fiction.  Dr.  Mitchell  once  said: 
"Yes,  in  nearly  everything  I  have  written  there 
has  been  some  case  traced  out,  excepting  in  my 
book  called  'Circumstance.'  "  The  author-phy- 
sician once  said  at  the  University  Club  of  Phila- 
delphia, where  a  reception  was  held  in  his  hon- 
or, that  if  he  were  to  choose  between  abandon- 
ment of  literary  work  or  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine, he  would  quit  the  former.  "If  I  could  be 
remembered  by  but  one  thing,"  he  said,  "I 
would  rather  It  would  be  for  the  work  I  have 
been  able  to  do  for  my  fellow-men  In  the  pro- 
fession of  medicine." 

To  a  physician  his  books  present  a  peculiar 
charm  and  the  hysterical  illness  of  Anne  Pen- 


28  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

hallow  and  the  gunshot  injury  of  the  head  in 
her  husband,  in  "Westways,"  are  certainly  two 
of  the  best  descriptions  of  illnesses  to  be  found 
in  novels.  When  one  thinks  that  this  book  was 
written  when  Dr.  Mitchell  was  eighty-four  years 
old,  one  can  but  marvel  at  the  brain,  untouched 
by  the  ravages  of  age,  w^hich  produced  it.  I  do 
not  believe  there  is  in  all  literature  another  pro- 
duction by  a  man  of  this  age  which  can  even 
remotely  compare  with  "Westways." 

It  has  been  said:  "Dr.  Mitchell's  style  of 
writing  had  a  peculiar  charm  which  endeared 
him  to  his  readers.  His  characters  seemed  to  be 
living,  breathing  beings,  human  in  every  aspect, 
and  his  historical  romances  teemed  with  re- 
freshing vigor  and  realism.  This  was  all  the 
more  remarkable  coming  from  the  pen  of  a  man 
whose  life  had  virtually  been  spent  in  the  clinic 
rooms  of  hospitals  and  in  the  sober  atmosphere 
of  the  medical  world." 

"Dr.  Mitchell  used  almost  every  known  form 
of  literary  expression.     The  novel,  the  short 


AS  A  NOVELIST  29 

story,  the  essay,  the  drama,  verse,  all  were  at 
the  command  of  his  masterly  intellect.  He  al- 
ternated humorous  short  stones  with  those  of 
the  tragic  type.  Lyric,  romantic  and  dramatic 
poetry  are  also  equally  represented  in  his  writ- 
ings." 

Anyone  who  has  not  read  the  "Youth  of 
Washington"  has  missed  a  great  deal.  In  this 
delightful  book  you  see  the  foundation  upon 
which  was  built  that  great  human  structure, 
George  Washington,  and  learn  much  of  the 
events  leading  up  to  the  revolution.  A  charm- 
ingly drawn  picture  is  the  character  of  the  moth- 
er  of  Washington. 

In  speaking  of  one  of  his  first  short  stories, 
the  following  is  an  interesting  anecdote: 

The  first  contribution  of  the  author-physician 
to  a  periodical  was  based  upon  a  humorous  dis- 
cussion with  friends  whether  or  not  the  loss  of 
any  member  of  the  body  involved  a  partial  loss 
of  individuality.  In  explaining  the  circum- 
stances, Dr.  Mitchell  said  to  an  interviewer : 


30  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

"I  simply  wrote  out  the  story  of  a  man  whose 
arms  and  legs  had  been  amputated  and  the  his- 
tory of  his  case.  I  lent  the  manuscript,  which  I 
did  not  intend  for  publication,  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Furness,  and  he  in  turn  gave  it  to  Edward 
Everett  Hale  to  read.  Dr.  Hale  was  at  that 
time  connected  with  the  Atlantic  Monthly.  To 
my  surprise,  I  received  a  substantial  check  and 
saw  my  paper.  'The  Case  of  George  Dedlaw,' 
printed  as  the  leading  article.  Well,  my  poor 
man  was  supposed  to  be  at  the  Stump  Hospital 
[2i  place  exclusively  for  dismembered  human- 
ity) ,  and  subscriptions  began  to  pour  in  for  the 
fictitious  George  Dedlaw,  while  the  newspapers 
took  up  the  'remarkable'  case.  It  was  some 
time  before  it  was  understood  that  no  such  arm- 
less and  legless  man  existed." 

It  has  been  a  matter  of  considerable  wonder 
how  Dr.  Mitchell  had  the  time  to  write  his 
books  and  at  the  same  time  keep  up  his  prac- 
tice and  maintain  his  interest  in  so  many  other 
things.    This  will  always  remain  a  marvel,  espe- 


^^ 


AS  A  NOVELIST  31 

cially  when  the  fact  is  considered  that  for  years 
his  hand  trembled  but  in  spite  of  it  he  wrote 
all  of  his  manuscript  with  pen.  He  adopted  a 
general  plan  of  writing  at  Bar  Harbor  or  in 
Canada  in  the  summer  and  devoting  himself 
to  medicine  in  the  winter.  In  the  younger  days 
of  his  life  Dr.  Mitchell  was  almost  a  continuous 
worker  and  he  told  me  that  at  one  time  he 
worked  twelve  years  with  only  three  days  holi- 
day. Later,  however,  he  spent  considerable 
time  in  traveling  and  fishing  but  always  found 
time  to  write.  He  would  go  salmon  fishing  in 
Canada  nearly  every  summer  for  several  weeks 
and  he  would  never  forget  to  send  the  staff  at 
the  Orthopaedic  Hospital  a  large  salmon.  In 
fact,  he  was  ever  thoughtful  of  those  who 
worked  under  him. 

An  idea  of  his  indefatigability  as  a  worker 
may  be  obtained  from  a  discussion  he  once  made 
of  his  book,  ''Constance  Trescott." 

''The  main  facts  of  that  story  are  true,"  he 
said.    "It  is  based  on  a  woman's  vendetta  that 


32  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

actually  came  under  my  observation.  It  was 
written  first  as  a  comparatively  short  story, 
about  a  hundred  pages,  and  when  that  was  fin- 
ished the  larger  possibilities  were  seen  in  it.  The 
book  has  been  almost  completely  rewritten  three 
times  in  three  successive  years. 

"I  have  everything  set  in  type  and  study  ef- 
fects from  galley  proofs.  Then  I  insist  upon 
a  complete  printed  copy,  page  for  page,  of  the 
entire  work,  and  when  I  get  that  in  hand  I  be- 
gin to  see  my  mistakes  and  get  a  general  effect 
of  the  work." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  go  farther  into  a  discus- 
sion of  his  familiar  writings.  The  following  list 
embraces  his  main  literary  output  since  1880. 

There  have  appeared  a  collection  of  short 
stories  entitled,  "Hepzibah  Guinness,"  which 
showed  that  a  new  figure  had  entered  Ameri- 
can literature.  This  volume  was  followed  by 
the  first  book  of  verse,  "The  Hill  of  Stones  and 
Other  Poems,"  in  1882;  "In  War  Times,"  a 
novel,  1885,  the  first  of  a  long  series,  the  plot 


AS  A  NOVELIST  33 

of  which  was  laid  In  Philadelphia. 

Novels  and  books  of  verse  appeared  almost 
annually  afterward,  each  one  increasing  the 
popularity  their  author  had  won.  In  the  order 
named  have  been  published,  ''Roland  Blake,"  a 
novel,  1886;  "A  Masque  and  Other  Poems," 
1887;  "Prince  Littleboy,  and  Other  Tales  out 
of  Fairyland,"  1888;  "Far  in  the  Forest,"  a 
story,  1889;  "The  Cup  of  Youth,"  drama  in 
verse,  1889;  "Francois  Villon,"  dramatic  poem, 
1890;  "The  Psalm  of  Death,"  1891;  "Char- 
acteristics," 1892;  "Francis  Drake,"  dramatic 
poem,  1893;  "When  All  the  Woods  Are 
Green,"  descriptive  of  forest  life,  1894;  "Phil- 
ip Vernon,"  dramatic  poem,  1895;  "Collected 
Poems,"  1896;  "Mr.  Kriss  Kringle,"  1896; 
"Hugh  Wynne,  Free  Quaker,"  1897;  "The 
Adventures  of  Francois,"  1899;  "Dr  North 
and  His  Friends,"  1900;  "The  Wager,"  1900; 
"Circumstance,"  a  novel,  1901 ;  "Pearl,"  1901 ; 
"Comedy  of  Conscience,"  1902;  "Little  Stor- 
ies,"   1903;    "Youth  of  Washington,"    1904; 


34  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

"Constance  Trescott,"  1905;  "A  Diplomatic 
Adventure,"  1905;  "The  Mind  Reader," 
1907;  "A  Christmas  Venture,"  1907;  "The 
Red  City,"  1907  ;  "The  Comfort  of  the  Hills," 
1909;  "John  Sherwood,  Ironmaster,"  1911; 
and  "Westways,  A  Village  Chronicle,"  19 13. 


AS  A  POET 

ONLY  a  few  prose  writers  have  been 
poets  of  note,  but  It  has  been  said 
that  Dr.  Mitchell's  poetry  will  al- 
ways live  and  that  his  reputa- 
tion as  a  poet  will  grow.  His  poems  range 
from  little  Christmas  verses  sent  to  friends,  to 
"Francis  Drake,  a  Tragedy  of  the  Sea,"  the 
fine,  vivid,  forceful  poem  which  has  been 
classed  with  the  best  dramatic  poetry  in  Eng- 
lish literature.  His  beautiful  lyrics  "To  A 
Magnolia  Flower,"  and  the  songs  "Good- 
Night"  and  "Evening"  are  well  worth  one's 
while.  As  for  Dr.  Mitchell's  supreme  effort  in 
verse,  critics  like  Charles  Eliot  Norton  and 
Thomas  Bailey  Aldrich  agreed  at  the  time  of  its 
publication  that  the  "Ode  on  a  Lycian  Tomb" 
was  one  of  the  four  or  five  great  elegiac  poems 
In  English. 

It  may  be  of  Interest  to  quote  a  few  of  his 

35 


36  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

verses,  especially  with  a  view  of  keeping  his  ver- 
satility as  a  poet  in  mind.  In  a  little  poem  sent 
to  his  friends  one  Christmas,  called  "King 
Christmas  and  Master  New  Year,"  he  writes: 

King  Christmas  from  his  house  of  ice 
Looked  out  across  the  snow. 

"Hallo,  my  little  man!"  he  cried, 
"Now  whither  dost  thou  go?" 

"I  go,  my  lord,  along  the  way 

That  all  my  kin  have  gone. 
Where  you,  my  lord,  shall  follow  me 

Before  another  dawn." 

And  closes  with : 

"Now  bid  thy  gallant  company 
Ride  onward  without  fear; 
For  I,  the  King  of  Christmas, 
Have  blessed  the  glad  New  Year." 

Two  verses  of  "The  Song  of  the  Flags," 
upon  the  return  of  battle  flags  to  various  states 
of  the  Confederacy,  are  particularly  musical  and 
vigorous : 


AS  A  POET  37 

We  loved  the  wild  clamor  of  battle, 
The  crash  of  the  musketry's  rattle, 

The  bugle  and  drum. 
We  have  drooped  in  the  dust,  long  and  lonely; 
The  blades  that  flashed  joy  are  rust  only, 

The  far-rolling  war  music  dumb. 

Blow  forth  on  the  south  wind  to  greet  us 
O  star  flag!  once  eager  to  meet  us 

When  war  lines  were  set. 
Go  carry  to  far  fields  of  glory 
The  soul-stirring  thrill  of  the  story, 

Of  days  when  in  anger  we  met. 

Listen  for  a  moment  to  the  music  of  "Gui- 
darello  Guidarelli:" 

Still   one   hears   our   women    singing, 
For  a  love-charm,  so  'tis  said, — 

"Guidarello  Guidarelli!" 

Like  a  love-mass  for  the  dead. 

In  caressing  Iteration 

With  his  name  their  voices  play — 
"EllI,  Nelll,  Guidarelli," 

Through  some  busy  market-day. 


And  to  one  verse  of  "To  A  Magnolia  Flow- 


er:^' 


38  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

Set  wide  the  glory  of  thy  perfect  bloom! 

Call  every  wind  to  share  thy  scented  breaths! 
No  life  is  brief  that  doth  perfection  win. 

To-day  is  thine — to-morrow  thou  art  death's. 

In  the  ''Ode  on  a  Lycian  Tomb"  the  poet 
took  his  inspiration,  said  Richard  Watson 
Gilder,  from  the  monument  which  is  now  in 
the  Museum  of  Constantinople,  and  has  on  its 
four  sides  eighteen  compartments  in  which  the 
same  woman  appears  carved  in  many  attitudes 
of  grief. 

What  gracious  nunnery  of  grief  is  here! 
One  woman  garbed  in  sorrow's  every  mood ; 
Each  sad  presentiment  celled  apart,  in  fear 
Lest  that  herself  upon  herself  intrude 
And  break  some  tender  dream  of  sorrow's  day, 
Here  cloistered  lonely,  set  in  marble  gray. 

O  pale  procession  of  immortal  love, 
Forever  married  to  immortal  grief! 
All  of  life's  child-like  sorrow  far  above. 
Past  help  of  time's  compassionate  relief: 
These  changeless  stones  are  treasuries  of  regret 
And  mock  the  term  by  time  for  sorrow  set. 


AS  A  POET  39 

Cold  mourners — set  in  stone  so  long  ago, 
Too  much  my  thoughts  have  dwelt  with  thee  apart. 
Again  my  grief  is  young;  full  well  I  know 
The  pang  reborn,  that  mocked  my  feeble  art 
With  that  too  human  wail  in  pain  expressed, 
The  parent  cry  above  the  empty  nest. 

This  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of 
poems.  * 


AS  A  CITIZEN 

DR.  MITCHELL  was  a  man  of 
large  views  and  one  much  intersted 
in  public  affairs.  He  was  in  demand 
for  lectures  and  after-dinner 
speeches.  As  a  member  of  the  Carnegie  Foun- 
dation, he  had  to  do  with  the  promotion  of 
various  educational  institutions  and  at  times 
took  great  interest  in  certain  reform  movements 
and  in  local  politics,  and  he  always  used  his 
influence  for  the  betterment  of  municipal  condi- 
tions. 

His  advice  was  sought  about  various  and 
sundry  movements  for  the  betterment  of  hu- 
manity and  he  was  consulted  by  at  least  two 
presidents  of  the  United  States  upon  public 
questions.  He  did  much  to  preserve  the  local 
history  of  Philadelphia  and  was  also  instru- 
mental in  having  many  of  the  historical  places 

in  Virginia  properly  preserved.    He  lent  books 

40 


AS  A  CITIZEN  41 

and  gave  other  assistance  to  anyone  seeking  his 
help,  and  many  physicians,  socialists,  authors 
and  philanthropists  owe  to  him  the  Inspiration 
and  direction  of  their  work.  He  did  more  than 
anyone  else  to  organize,  build  and  equip  the  new 
College  of  Physicians  In  Philadelphia  and  to  ob- 
tain for  them  their  wonderful  library.  The 
Weir  Mitchell  Hall  In  this  building  was  named 
in  his  honor. 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS 

DR.  MITCHELL  was  known  to  the 
writer  through  generations  of  family 
friendship,  his  grandfather  living  in 
Jefferson  County,  now  West  Vir- 
ginia, but  then  a  portion  of  Virginia,  and  his 
father  were  friends  of  the  writer's  ancestors, 
and  during  Dr.  Mitchell's  childhood  he  spent 
a  good  part  of  several  years  at  the  plantation 
home  of  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  and  thus  be- 
came a  childhood  friend  of  his  sons,  Beverley, 
John  Randolph,  St.  George  and  David  Tucker. 
I  have  heard  my  grandparent  say  that  at  this 
time  Dr.  Mitchell  was  not  a  particularly  robust 
youth,  that  he  was  fond  of  fishing  and  of  going 
out  under  the  trees,  lying  on  his  back  and  med- 
itating hours  at  a  time.  Dr.  Mitchell  never  for- 
got these  days  and  often  spoke  to  me  of  the 
family  prayers  which  were  held,  when  my  great- 
grandmother,  a  very  pious  lady,  kept  a  green 

42 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS     43 

umbrella  by  her  side  with  which  to  poke  the 
boys  or  servants  who  became  inattentive  or 
drowsy  during  this  daily  religious  function.  He 
would  also  recall  the  days  in  which,  as  a  boy, 
he  and  the  others  would  play  circus  on  the  plan- 
tation, and  it  was  here  that  he  learned  to  ride 
and  shoot.  With  St.  George  Tucker  he  went 
hunting  and  shot  his  first  squirrel.  He  said  he 
was  proud  of  his  marksmanship  until  he  went  to 
pick  the  squirrel  up,  and  it  bit  him  through  the 
thumb  when  he  was  told  he  must  always  shoot 
a  squirrel  through  the  eye !  The  evenings  were 
spent  in  reading  and  conversation. 

Several  years  ago,  in  going  through  some  of 
his  old  papers  he  found  and  sent  me  the  auto- 
graph of  my  great-grandfather.  Judge  H.  St. 
George  Tucker,  which  he  had  asked  for  and 
which  Judge  Tucker  had  given  him  accom- 
panied by  the  following  verse: 

"The  time  has  passed,  my  friend,  when  youthful  pride 
A  neat  fac  simile  could  have  supplied. 
By  time  the  vigor  of  the  arm's  unmanned 


44  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

And  trembling  palsy  shakes  the  aged  hand. 
In  second  childhood,  as  in  life's  first  stage, 
The  veriest  pot-hooks  mar  the  blotted  page." 

At  the  age  of  seventy-seven,  Dr.  Mitchell 
sent  me  this  verse  and  autograph,  with  a  kindly 
note  in  his  own  trembling  hand. 

This  childhood  friendship  continued  and 
when  my  father,  a  son  of  Beverley  Tucker,  was 
taken  extremely  ill  with  an  obscure  disease,  in 
the  seventies,  Dr.  Mitchell  treated  him  and  it 
was  largely  through  his  advice  that  the  patient 
recovered,  dying  unfortunately  several  years 
afterward  of  typhoid  fever.  So  when  I  went  to 
him  to  ask  his  advice  about  obtaining  post-grad- 
uate work  in  nervous  diseases,  I  found  a  ready 
and  responsive  friend  and  adviser. 

I  shall  never  forget  my  first  impression  of 
that  visit.  I  was  ushered  into  the  waiting  room 
of  his  office  and  residence  at  1524  Walnut  Street 
by  a  door  man  in  knickerbockers  with  a  red  vest 
and  brass  buttons  and  a  swallow-tail  coat.  It 
was  after  office  hours.     The  room  was  much 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS     45 

like  and  still  different  from  the  waiting  rooms 
of  prominent  physicians  everywhere.  In  the 
corner  by  a  window  sat  before  a  typewriter  his 
secretary,  a  middle-aged  lady  who  had  served 
in  that  capacity  for  many  years.  The  room  was 
furnished  chiefly  in  old  walnut  of  several  vint- 
ages, the  book  shelves  were  filled  with  used 
books,  on  the  walls  hung  various  engravings 
and  a  water  color  of  a  huge  rattle-snake,  while 
pictures  of  his  medical  friends  and  patients 
perched  on  the  book  shelves,  the  mantel  and 
everywhere.  In  the  center  of  the  room,  which 
was  carpeted,  I  remember,  with  a  deep  red  rug 
giving  a  sense  of  warmth  and  comfort  on  this 
cold  December  day,  was  a  large,  oblong  walnut 
table  piled  with  books  and  magazines.  About 
this  time  the  folding  door  opened  and  an  oldish 
gentleman  in  a  brown  velvet  smoking  jacket,  a 
red  tie  and  checked  waiscoat  and  trousers  step- 
ped alertly  into  the  room.  I  also  noticed  that 
he  had  a  white,  rather  scraggly  beard,  that  his 
white  hair  was  parted  in  the  middle,  that  he 


46  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

looked  at  me  kindly  with  clear  blue  eyes,  and 
that  his  feet  were  exceedingly  well  groomed  and 
rather  small  for  his  size.  He  was  six  feet,  his 
head  was  splendidly  developed,  he  stooped  a  lit- 
tle at  the  shoulders  and  the  hand  he  extended 
trembled. 

I  had  been  considerably  awed  at  the  prospects 
of  this  interview  but  I  began  to  feel  a  little  more 
at  ease  when  he  said,  "Well,  Tucker,  I  am  glad 
to  see  you,"  in  a  voice  which  combined  kindness 
and  power  in  a  way  no  other  voice  has  that  I 
have  ever  heard.  He  led  me  into  his  office  and 
motioned  me  to  a  seat,  and  probably  seeing  that 
I  was  a  little  embarrassed,  instead  of  taking  his 
office  chair  at  his  large,  double,  handsomely 
carved,  flat  top  desk,  took  an  ordinary  chair, 
rested  his  elbow  on  the  corner  of  his  desk,  and, 
as  I  afterward  found  his  habit  was,  rested  his 
head  upon  his  hand  with  two  of  the  fingers 
slightly  back  of  his  ear.  I  imagined  he  must 
be  a  little  deaf,  and  he  really  was.  He  knew 
that  I  had  come  to  ask  him  about  getting  post- 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS     47 

graduate  and  hospital  work  In  nervous  diseases, 
for  I  had  written  him,  and  he  opened  the  con- 
versation by  asking  me  about  various  connec- 
tions and  friends  he  had  In  Virginia.  He  asked 
me  was  the  old  brick  wall  still  around  the  Archer 
yard  at  Sixth  and  Franklin  Streets  In  Richmond, 
and  If  the  old  sycamore  tree  was  still  In  the  cen- 
ter of  the  sidewalk  by  the  wall.  I  told  him 
neither  had  been  disturbed,  and  he  told  me  that 
as  a  boy  he  had  walked  along  the  top  of  the 
wall  many  a  time  and  watched  the  birds  and 
tame  squirrels  In  the  old  sycamore.  This  all 
made  me  feel  perfectly  at  home  and  then  he 
quizzed  me  about  myself — not  only  my  medical 
preparation,  but  asked  my  views  on  various  top- 
ics, made  me  tell  him  about  my  life  and  rela- 
tives and  told  me  many  little  reminiscences  of 
my  grandfather  and  great  uncles.  During  this 
conversation  he  offered  me  a  cigar  and  we 
smoked.  Once  he  used  a  slang  expression  and 
I  found  an  opportunity  a  little  later  and  used 
one  also.     Toward  the  end  he  rang,  and  when 


48  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

the  man  appeared,  ordered  some  brandy  and 
water  which  he  offered  me  and  I  took.  When 
Dr.  Mitchell  took  his  brandy  he  looked  at  me 
quizically  and  said,  "I  am  glad  to  see  you  have 
some  petty  vices.  I  hope  you  have  no  great 
ones.  I  am  usually  afraid  of  a  man  who  has  no 
petty  vices."  He  then  stood  up  and  leaned  his 
elbow  on  the  mantal  where  a  wood  fire  was 
burning  on  brass  andirons  and  told  me  he  would 
obtain  for  me  the  hospital  appointment  I  want- 
ed. I  told  him  I  had  some  fear  as  to  the  wis- 
dom of  my  attempting  nervous  diseases  as  I  did 
not  know  whether  I  would  be  equal  to  the  op- 
portunities he  was  offering  me.  He  then  said 
something  which  has  helped  me  in  many  de- 
cisions. "Never  fail,"  he  said,  "to  accept  any 
opportunity  which  will  broaden  your  horizon." 
I  left  shortly  afterward  feeling  that  I  had  a 
friend  and  adviser  indeed.  I  was  too  taken  up 
with  the  man  to  notice  much  about  his  office  at 
this  time.  As  I  walked  out  on  Walnut  Street 
that  winter  afternoon,  I  knew  that  I  had  been 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS     49 

in  the  presence  of  a  great  man,  but  some  things 
about  him  struck  me  oddly.  His  legs  and  feet 
were  youthful,  his  hands  and  hearing  aged,  his 
body  and  mind  middle-aged,  and  his  personality 
adaptable  to  any  age.  Fleeting  impressions  paint 
true  pictures  at  times  though  lacking  in  detail. 

Dr.  Mitchell  once  told  me  that  many  of  the 
scenes  in  his  novels  he  drew  from  real  life;  for 
instance,  the  scene  in  "Constance  Trescott"  of 
old  Mrs.  Avaril  picking  roses  in  her  garden  was 
a  reproduction  of  Mrs.  Cynthia  Coleman,  of 
Williamsburg,  Va.,  culling  roses  in  her  garden 
one  summer's  day  when  he  chanced  to  be  visit- 
ing that  historic  old  town  and  stopped  at  the 
garden  fence  to  watch  her. 

When  he  wrote  his  poem  on  the  return  of  the 
battle  flags  of  the  Confederacy,  he  showed  the 
manuscript  to  a  Southern  lady  patient  and  was 
much  amused  when  she  told  him  that  she 
thought  the  poetry  very  fine  but  that  the  "Yan- 
kees" should  never  have  taken  the  battle  flags 
and  that  she  was  an  unreconstructed  rebel  still. 


50  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

He  was  fond  of  champagne  and  when  at  a 
dinner-party  one  night  the  lady  next  to  him 
asked,  "Why,  Doctor,  you  do  not  drink  cham- 
pagne, do  you?"  he  replied,  with  a  twinkle  in  his 
eye,  "Yes,  Madam,  for  breakfast,  dinner  and 
supper." 

A  prominent  minister  was  among  the  guests, 
and  after  dinner  when  he  refused  a  cigar.  Dr. 
Mitchell  told  him  that  a  preacher  should  have 
some  "innocent  vice"  and  teased  him,  saying 
that  if  he  had  known  how  good  he  was  he 
would  have  opposed  his  being  called  to  Philadel- 
phia. 

The  story  of  the  Northerner  learning  to  shoot 
and  shooting  so  many  people,  as  described  in 
"Characteristics,"  was  told  to  him  by  a  former 
assistant  from  Arkansas,  as  true.  Dr.  Mitch- 
ell was  fond  of  telling  anecdotes  about  this  as- 
sistant who  was  with  him  just  preceding  the 
war.  He  "read  medicine"  in  Dr.  Mitchell's  of- 
fice. When  he  came  to  Dr.  Mitchell,  the  Doc- 
tor asked  him  what  accomplishments  he  had, 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS      51 

and  the  Arkansan  said  he  had  only  one,  where- 
upon he  pulled  a  bowie  knife  from  his  boot  and 
threw  it  across  the  room  so  that  it  stuck  in  the 
panel  of  Dr.  Mitchell's  mahogany  office  door. 
The  Doctor  told  him  that  was  fine,  but  that  it 
was  a  method  of  surgery  which  had  not  yet 
reached  Philadelphia. 

Dr.  Mitchel  believed  in  spending  money  lib- 
erally, and  once  told  me  that  it  was  a  pity  for 
a  man  not  to  spend  most  of  his  income,  and  that 
he  believed  it  was  wrong  for  a  physician  to 
charge  exorbitantly.  He  told  me  of  a  wealthy 
patient  from  Chicago  whom  he  cured  of  some 
simple  malady  and  charged  him  $100.00.  The 
wealthy  patient  was  astonished  at  the  small  fee 
and  told  Dr.  Mitchell  that  if  he  had  charged 
him  $1,000.00  he  would  have  gladly  paid  it. 
Dr.  Mitchell  told  him  that  even  if  he  had  he 
would  have  gone  back  to  Chicago  and  never 
ceased  to  tell  people  how  exorbitant  he  was. 

Dr.  Mitchell  seemed  to  be  able  to  accomplish 
more,  do  it  more  thoroughly  and  without  appar- 


52  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

ent  hurry  than  anyone  I  have  ever  seen.  I 
heard  him  say  that  no  detail  of  examination  or 
treatment,  however  laborious,  should  ever  be 
overlooked.  A  patient  of  his  at  the  Orthopaedic 
Hospital  and  Infirmary  for  Nervous  Diseases 
thanked  him  one  day  for  taking  so  much  trouble 
with  her  case,  and  he  replied,  *'Madam,  you 
need  not  flatter  yourself.  I  take  just  as  much 
trouble  with  any  patient  who  consults  me.''  As 
an  illustration  of  his  ability  to  pick  out  a  clue 
to  a  case  which  had  been  overlooked  by  others, 
it  is  of  interest  to  say  that  this  patient  had  been 
brought  to  Dr.  Mitchell  by  two  prominent  nerve 
specialists.  I  happened  to  be  present  at  this 
first  consultation.  The  two  doctors  referred  to 
had  a  history  of  the  case  consisting  of  six  pages 
of  foolscap,  closely  written.  Dr.  Mitchell  care- 
fully read  this  whole  history  and  then  turning 
to  the  physicians  said:  "You  have  no  note  of 
the  condition  of  her  heart."  "No,"  they  said, 
"we  have  omitted  that."  Whereupon  Dr^ 
Mitchell  listened  to  the  patient's  heart  and  im- 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS      53 

mediately  detected  a  leaking  valve.  This  heart 
trouble  accounted  for  her  symptoms. 

In  the  summer  of  1905  a  prominent  Canadian 
official  talked  very  freely  to  Dr.  Mitchell  about 
government  affairs  and  then  asked  him  not  to 
divulge  anything  that  was  told  him,  and  re- 
peated this  request.  Whereupon  Dr.  Mitchell 
replied  that  during  his  life-time  he  had  kept 
more  secrets  than  any  Hve  British  viceroys  ever 
heard  I 

He  had  a  remarkable  memory  and  his  secre- 
tary once  told  me  when  I  remarked  upon  this 
to  her,  that  a  few  months  before  a  man  came 
into  his  office  and  said:  "Doctor,  I  don't  ex- 
pect you  can  remember  anything  about  me,  for 
it  has  been  32  years  since  I  consulted  you."  Dr. 
Mitchell  told  him  that  he  would  not  attempt 
to  remember  his  name,  but  asked  him  for  what 
malady  he  had  consulted  him,  and  as  soon  as 
the  man  told  him,  he  remembered  the  whole 
case  and  described  It  accurately,  to  the  great 
astonishment  of  the  former  patient. 


54  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

Having  heard  the  story  of  his  consulting 
some  nerve  specialist  abroad  and  of  this  special- 
ist recommending  him  to  consult  Dr.  Weir 
Mitchell,  of  Philadelphia,  I  asked  him  on  one 
occasion  to  tell  me  the  true  story.  He  replied 
that  he  was  in  Paris  and  had  been  overworked 
and  felt  much  run-down,  so  he  decided  to  con- 
sult the  great  nerve  specialist.  Dr.  Charcot. 
Wishing  an  independent  opinion,  he  did  not 
give  his  name.  Dr.  Charcot  examined  him  and 
gave  a  few  simple  directions,  and  then  turning 
to  him  asked  him  where  he  was  from.  Dr. 
Mitchell  told  him  he  was  from  Philadelphia. 
Then  Dr.  Charcot  said:  "You  have  a  man  in 
Philadelphia  who  knows  more  about  run-down 
nervous  conditions  than  anyone  else  I  know  of, 
and  I  will  give  you  a  letter  to  Dr.  S.  Weir 
Mitchell,  whom  you  must  consult."  Dr.  Char- 
cot started  the  letter.  The  situation  was  so 
ludicrous  that  Dr.  Mitchell  laughed,  and  when 
Charcot  asked  him  what  he  was  laughing  about. 
Dr.  Mitchell  handed  him  his  card.     Dr.  Char- 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS      55 

cot  then  jumped  up,  all  attention,  and  spent 
another  half  hour  going  over  the  case. 

Dr.  Mitchell  was  simple  in  his  manners  and 
disliked  anyone's  cringing  to  greatness.  He 
said  that  he  had  frequently  gone  into  stores  and 
had  clerks  to  wait  upon  him  indifferently,  but 
when  he  gave  his  name  and  address  for  the  pur- 
chase to  be  sent,  they  changed  their  demeanor 
entirely  and  wished  to  show  him  everything  in 
the  place.  He  said  he  always  felt  like  kicking 
a  man  who  did  things  of  this  sort.  I  suspect 
many  a  clerk  has  received  a  good  lesson  from 
him. 

Dr.  Mitchell  lived  well  and  was  always  fond 
of  a  good  meal.  He  told  me  about  being  in 
Richmond  on  one  occasion,  and  staying  at  the 
old  Exchange  Hotel  after  its  better  days  were 
over.  His  wife  was  with  him  and  they  simply 
could  not  eat  the  fare.  They  were  invited  to 
dinner  by  Dr.  Hunter  McGuire  and  he  and  Mrs. 
Mitchell  ate  very  heartily.  On  several  occa- 
sions I  have  heard  him  speak  of  this  meal  as 


S6  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

one  of  the  most  enjoyable  of  which  he  had  ever 
partaken. 

He  took  a  great  interest  in  things  in  Virginia 
and  not  infrequently  visited  Richmond.  He 
once  visited  Westmoreland  County  on  a  yacht- 
ing trip  and  took  occasion  to  look  up  the  homes 
of  the  Washingtons  and  Lees.  Upon  his  re- 
turn he  took  up  the  matter  of  the  condition  of 
the  graves  of  these  families  with  the  proper  au- 
thorities and  had  them  put  in  much  better  re- 
pair. There  was  hardly  a  place  which  he  vis- 
ited which  did  not  profit  in  one  respect  or  anoth- 
er by  some  suggestion  or  at  times  even  by  more 
substantial  aid. 

The  instance  related  in  "Westways"  of  John 
Penhallow  chasing  in  a  skirmish  a  disarmed 
Confederate  Colonel  to  capture  him,  being  too 
honorable  to  shoot  a  disarmed  man,  and  of  the 
Colonel  after  a  hard  ride  turning  as  he  entered 
some  woods  and  telling  Pennhallow  to  stop,  and 
calling  to  him  that  it  was  useless  for  him  to 
follow  as  there  were  10,000  Confederates  a  few 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS      57 

hundred  yards  on  the  other  side  of  the  woods, 
thus  saving  each  other's  lives,  was  a  true  story 
and  happened  to  one  of  Dr.  Mitchell's  broth- 
ers. The  Confederate  thanked  him  for  spar- 
ing his  life  and  Col.  Mitchell  thanked  the  Con- 
federate for  keeping  him  from  death  or  capture. 
They  waved  their  hats  to  each  other  and  went 
their  separate  ways.  These  two  colonels  met 
years  afterwards  at  a  dinner  in  Chicago.  Dr. 
Mitchell  finished  this  anecdote  by  saying  that 
many  such  instances  of  gallantry  occurred  dur- 
ing the  war  and  that  they  shed  happy  rays  of 
light  upon  that  terrible  and  gloomy  conflict. 

Apropos  of  Dr.  Mitchell's  study  of  snake 
venoms,  a  friend  of  his  told  me  the  following. 
Someone  once  sent  him  a  large  rattler  from 
Arizona  in  a  wooden  box.  This  was  shipped  to 
his  office  instead  of  to  the  laboratory,  and  Dr. 
Mitchell  let  it  stay  in  his  office  over  night  to  be 
taken  out  to  the  laboratory  in  the  morning.  The 
rattler  was  six  feet  long  and  that  night  while 
Dr.  Mitchell  was  reading  it  got  out  of  "the  box 


58  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

without  his  notice,  and  climbed  up  the  back  of 
his  chair  and  put  its  head  over  Dr.  Mitchell's 
shoulder.  The  Doctor  then  noticed  it  and  with 
rare  presence  of  mind  sat  still  while  the  snake 
moved  its  head  back  and  forth,  fascinated  by 
the  light  of  the  lamp.  The  snake  touched  the 
lamp  globe  and  this  being  hot  made  it  mad, 
and  it  drew  up  further  and  turned  its  head  to 
Dr.  Mitchell's  face.  They  watched  each  other. 
Dr.  Mitchell  slowly  and  cautiously  reached  out 
his  hand  for  a  large  metal  paper-cutter  which 
was  on  his  desk,  watching  the  snake  all  the  time. 
When  he  reached  it,  with  a  sudden  twist  of  this 
improvised  weapon  he  struck  the  snake  on  the 
neck,  knocking  it  to  the  floor,  and  he  escaped 
from  the  room.  Afterwards  the  snake  was  re- 
captured with  a  net. 

Dr.  Mitchell  once  said  to  me  that  he  regretted 
the  impression  had  gotten  out  in  some  circles 
that  he  was  more  interested  in  literature  and 
novel  writing  than  in  medicine.  He  said  that  lit- 
erary pursuits  were  interesting,  of  course,  but 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS      59 

unimportant  when  compared  with  medicine,  and 
that  he  was  much  more  interested  in  his  profes- 
sion than  in  anything  else. 

Dr.  Mitchell  seemed  to  have  the  faculty  of  a 
double  mental  grasp.  He  could  read  between 
the  lines  and  still  comprehend  the  lines.  This 
made  him  readily  understand  both  what  people 
appeared  to  be  and  what  they  really  were.  He 
was  hard  to  deceive. 

It  was  a  revelation  and  a  source  of  constant 
information  to  make  rounds  with  him.  He  had 
a  way  of  imparting  his  knowledge  succinctly  and 
vividly  so  that  even  his  minor  comments  were 
impressed  upon  one's  mind.  Patients  consulted 
him  not  only  from  all  over  the  United  States, 
but  many  from  abroad.  His  observation  was 
acute  and  he  had  the  knack  of  arriving  at  the 
main  clue  to  a  case  very  quickly.  This  faculty, 
however,  never  precluded  a  thorough  and  com- 
plete examination.  A  patient  had  an  attack 
while  waiting  on  one  of  the  clinic  benches  one 
afternoon.    A  clinical  assistant  saw  her  and  laid 


6o  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

her  out  on  the  bench  and  made  a  cursory  ex- 
amination. The  attack  was  thought  to  be  an 
ordinary  hysterical  seizure.  About  this  time 
Dr.  Mitchell  came  in  and  asked  what  was  the 
matter  with  the  girl.  He  was  told  that  she  sim- 
ply had  an  hysterical  attack.  He  went  over  to 
her,  rapidly  examined  her  reflexes,  asked  a  few 
questions  of  her  companion  and  sent  for  the  su- 
perintendent to  take  her  up-stairs  and  admit  her 
to  a  bed,  and  turning  to  the  assistant,  said: 
"You  are  entirely  wrong.  This  woman  is  in  the 
last  stages  of  brain  tumor,  and  will  die  before 
morning."  The  various  assistants  around  could 
hardly  believe  such  a  grave  prognosis.  After 
the  patient  was  put  to  bed,  she  was  thoroughly 
examined  and  the  diagnosis  confirmed,  and  she 
died  during  the  night. 

Everything  physiological  was  of  special  in- 
terest to  Dr.  Mitchell  and  he  contributed  accu- 
rate and  valuable  knowledge  to  such  subjects  as 
the  origin  of  cat  and  other  animal  phobias,  blood 
corpuscle  conformation  in  various  animals,  and 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS      6i 

to  the  hereditary  results  of  Intermarriage  with 
relations.  I  have  heard  him  say,  and  I  think 
he  has  published  somewhere,  that  In  his  obser- 
vation the  marrying  of  first  cousins  rarely  pro- 
duced harmful  results  If  the  man  resembled  one 
branch  of  the  family  and  the  girl  the  other,  but 
that  the  children  showed  more  marked  defects 
when  such  was  not  the  case. 

At  a  dinner  party  at  Dr.  John  Mitchell's  one 
night.  Dr.  Weir  Mitchell  and  Dr.  Chatham, 
Professor  of  Physiology  at  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  began  to  discuss  the  character 
of  blood  corpuscles  of  different  animals.  All 
other  conversation  was  suspended  while  these 
two  learned  men  discussed  this  subject  and 
showed  themselves  equally  familiar  with  the 
blood  of  rabbits,  chickens,  lions,  tigers,  etc.,  as 
with  human  blood. 

An  interesting  story  in  this  connection  is  told 
of  Dr.  Mitchell.  It  seems  that  years  ago  a 
certain  gentleman  'phoned  for  the  police  and 
said  that  he  was  attacked  by  robbers  and  that 


62  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

he  had  wounded  one  of  them,  and  showed  blood 
on  his  premises  in  evidence  of  the  conflict.  No 
other  trace  of  burglars  was  found  and  the  at- 
tack attracted  considerable  attention  in  the 
newspapers.  Within  a  year  the  same  thing  oc- 
curred. Again  there  was  considerable  publicity 
but  the  robbers  were  not  found.  Within  another 
year  a  third  attack  was  reported  and  this  time 
it  was  said  that  the  bloody  print  of  the  robber's 
hand  was  left  on  the  back-yard  fence.  The  po- 
lice were  much  puzzled  and  the  papers  full  of 
the  story.  Dr.  Mitchell,  of  his  own  initiative, 
quietly  went  to  the  premises,  scraped  some  of 
the  bloody  print  off,  took  it  home  and  examined 
it  under  the  microscope.  He  easily  recognized 
that  it  was  chicken  blood  and  not  human  blood, 
and  notified  the  police,  telling  them  to  search 
the  premises  for  the  chicken.  This  was  done 
and  the  mutilated  fowl  found  in  the  basement. 
No  other  assaults  were  reported. 

When  I  first  went  to  Philadelphia,  Dr.  Mitch- 
ell told  me  humorously  that  he  wanted  to  ex- 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS      63 

tend  to  me  the  greatest  courtesy  that  a  Philadel- 
phian  could  offer  a  stranger,  and  that  was  a  seat 
in  his  pew  at  St.  Stephen's  Church. 

Dr.  Mitchell  was  fond  of  entertaining  and  he 
and  Mrs.  Mitchell  made  as  charming  host  and 
hostess  as  I  have  ever  seen.  At  his  table  were 
served  the  most  delicious  delicacies  and  the 
rarest  wines,  while  good  cheer  and  culture  per- 
vaded the  atmosphere.  His  service  was  elabor- 
ate and  his  butlers  always  in  uniform.  The  ap- 
pointments of  his  dining-room  were  perfect  and 
the  striking  portrait  of  himself  by  Sargent  hung 
in  this  room.  After  dinner  it  was  his  custom 
to  take  the  gentlemen  of  the  party  into  his  pri- 
vate office,  where  the  conversation  would  be- 
come general. 

A  few  remarks  about  this  office  will  not  be 
amiss.  Every  room  which  we  enter  creates  an 
impression  of  its  own,  and  this  room  created  a 
variety  of  impressions,  culminating  in  the  gen- 
eral knowledge  that  here  you  were  in  the  "sanc- 
tum sanctotum"  of  both  a  great  literary  and 


64  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

scientific  man.  In  the  grate  in  due  season  blazed 
an  attractive  wood  fire.  The  furniture  was 
handsome  and  fitting,  and  carpets,  hangings  and 
walls  all  in  harmony.  The  desk  set  was  of  sil- 
ver, heavy  and  handsome,  and  on  the  desk, 
without  too  much  regard  or  too  much  disregard 
for  neatness  and  arrangement,  were  laid  manu- 
scripts, books,  papers,  magazines,  and  one  or 
two  instruments  for  special  examination  of  pa- 
tients. It  was  sometimes  ornamented  with  a 
vase  and  a  few  flowers.  On  the  wall  hung  a 
magnificent  life-size  portrait  of  Sir  William 
Harvie,  and  paintings,  etchings,  engravings  and 
framed  letters,  each  with  some  peculiar  interest 
of  its  own.  On  a  stand  by  the  window  in  a 
glass-covered  case  was  a  death  mask  of  Dante. 
Books,  many  of  them  most  rare  and  valuable, 
filled  the  book-shelves,  and  souvenirs  and  cu- 
rios were  here  and  there.  One  of  these  struck 
me  particularly.  It  was  a  brass  boat-plate  with 
the  name  "Lord  Byron"  on  it.  I  asked  him  the 
history  of  this  and  he  told  me  that  as  a  young 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS      6s 

man  he  once  went  with  his  father  to  England. 
At  this  time  especially  he  was  a  great  admirer 
of  Byron,  and  while  in  England  they  chanced  to 
visit  some  of  Byron's  relatives.  In  the  draw- 
ing-room he  noticed  this  brass  plate  and  was 
told  by  one  of  the  young  girls  of  the  house 
that  it  was  the  boat-plate  from  Byron's  gon- 
dola. As  they  stood  looking  at  it  Dr.  Mitchell 
said  to  his  father  that  he  would  rather  have 
that  souvenir  of  Byron  than  anything  he  had 
seen  in  England,  whereupon  the  old  Doctor 
said  to  him:  "Weir,  you  may  achieve  success 
and  fame,  but  every  man  has  his  limitations 
and  here  is  something,  a  small  thing  in  a  way, 
which  no  matter  how  much  you  desire  it  you  can 
never  obtain."  The  incident  was  forgotten.  On 
Dr.  Mitchell's  seventy-fifth  birthday  the  papers 
in  this  country  and  abroad  published  an  an- 
nouncement of  it  with  a  sketch  of  his  career. 
The  young  girl,  now  an  old  lady,  who  happened 
to  hear  this  conversation  between  Dr.  Mitchell 
and  his  father,  remembered  it  and  sent  him  the 


66  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

gondola  plate  with  a  letter,  saying  that  he  had 
achieved  so  many  things  that  she  wished  to 
make  this  particular  desire,  expressed  in  his 
youth,  complete. 

No  doubt  someone  will  write  a  complete  bi- 
ography of  Dr.  Mitchell.  These  little  recollec- 
tions, however,  are  interesting  as  everything 
about  a  great  man  is  of  interest.  Gathered 
here  and  there,  they  are  told  so  as  to  throw 
side  lights  upon  the  man  as  I  knew  him. 

We  now  approach  the  close  of  this  brief 
sketch.  Dr.  Mitchell  was  active,  mentally  and 
physically,  up  to  a  week  before  his  death,  at- 
tending to  his  office  practice,  paying  outside  vis- 
its and  making  rounds  in  the  hospital.  He 
caught  a  cold  to  which  he  paid  but  little  atten- 
tion. Influenza  set  in  and  after  a  week's  ill- 
ness he  died,  being  conscious  to  the  end,  on  the 
fourth  day  of  January,  19 14.  His  funeral  was 
held  in  St.  Stephen's  Church.  The  services  were 
marked  by  their  simplicity.  Men  of  prominence 
from  different  parts  of  the  country  went  to  pay 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS      67 

their  last  respects.  Although  the  church  was 
crowded  to  the  doors  with  eminent  physicians, 
authors,  philanthropists,  public  men  and  wo- 
men and  nurses  who  had  worked  under  him,  a 
remark  of  his  friend,  Dr.  William  J.  Taylor, 
to  me  during  the  services  seemed  to  me  an  ex- 
tremely fitting  comment  upon  a  wonderfully  use- 
ful life.  He  said:  "In  all  this  vast  congrega- 
tion, I  do  not  believe  I  see  a  person  whom  in  one 
Way  or  another  Dr.  Mitchell  has  not  personally 
aided  or  encouraged  In  work  or  ambition." 

This  fitting  verse  was  written  by  Richard  J. 
Beamish  and  appeared  in  the  Philadelphia 
Press  a  few  days  after  his  death: 

The  Useful  Life 

The  long,  lean  hands  are  folded  and  the  rest 
He  earned  lies  sweet  upon  him;  all  the  wise 

Sane  life,  the  helpful  word,  the  ready  jest 
Departed  with  the  light  from  his  kind  eyes. 

Emancipated  from  all  need  of  care, 

He  still  took  cares  upon  him  for  the  joy 

Of  doing.    "Make  me  useful,"  was  his  prayer. 


68  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

To  his  heart  he  took  the  crippled  boy. 
He  taught  the  tortured  soul  to  find  relief 

In  peaceful  relaxation.     All  the  wells 
Of  history  were  plumbed  by  him.    The  grief 

And  joy  of  life  are  in  the  tales  he  tells. 
Philosopher,  physician,  poet,  sage, 

His  work  ennobles  and  uplifts  the  age. 

With  this  I  close  except  to  say  that  Dr. 
Mitchell  was  a  true  Christian.  He  loved  his 
fellow-men  and  gave  them  his  life-work,  but  in 
no  whit  less  degree  he  loved  his  God  and  ren- 
dered Him  service. 


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